Light shield



Dub 15, 1942- E. c. HEMPHIYLL ETAL 2,305,030.

LIGHT SHIELD Filed July 20, 1940 IN VEN TORS. E0 WAI?D C. HEMP/1n. 1. 5;. s It? M HEMPH/L L A TTORNEY Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED s'ra'res LIGHT SHIELD Edward C. Hemphill and Elsie M. Hemphill, San Francisco, Calif.

Application July 20, 1940, Serial No. 346,582 1 Claim. (01. 2-15) The present invention relates to eye shields and particularly to those eye shields which are designed primarily to exclude light rays from the eyes so that a person sleeping may rest undisturbed even in daylight. It also has particular usefulness in protecting the eyes from the various kinds of lights which have therapeutic usefulness and which might damage eyesight unless the eyes were protected in some way.

The present invention is in the nature of an improvement over our Patent No. 1,924,315, of August 29, 1933.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a simple inexpensive device of this nature which can readily be placed in position and removed by the wearer and which, after being placed in position on the wearer, will remain without becoming dislodged under usual conditions of wear.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to exclude light rays of various kinds, but it should be borne in mind that in the excluding of such rays, or for any other purpose, it should fulfill its function without damage or injury to the eyes or injury of anykind. In numerous instances in the shields of the prior art, the arrangements are such that there is too much pull by the means used to hold the shield in place or the pressures are not properly distributed so that there is pressure on the optic nerve, as well as other discomforture. Such pressures are extremely detrimental and damaging even though so slight as to almost be unnoticeable. The shield of this invention is so designed and constructed that it will not cause any injury or undue pressure because of its being worn.

The comfort of the wearer is also important. Therefore, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide a device constructed of substantially porous material, permitting circulation of air, and so prevent perspiration or any discomfort in use.

Likewise, a device of this character must be so shaped as to conform comfortably with the varying contours of the profile of the user public. The present invention has for an object the provision of such a device which is acceptable for universal use in the accomplishment of-its principal function. The design likewise is scientifically constructed to prevent any possible contact of the eyelids no matter what form the profile of the user may be.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a light shield which is simple in design and construction and therefore-may be economically manufactured and supplied.

Referring now to the drawing which is merel illustrative of the present invention:

Fig. 1 is a view of one of the devices in position upon a wearer.

Fig. 2 is likewise a view of one of the devices on the head of a wearer showing a variant'form of the holding means.

Fig. 3 is a view of one of the devices in position on a user with another variant form of the holding means.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the device.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view in an enlarged scale taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing in more detail, in which like numerals have been used to indicate like portions in the several drawings, the numeral Iii indicates the main or body portion of the light shield, which is preferably of the shape indicated. It is preferably made of several materials which combine to form a light impervious structure; It is preferable to make the background 4 i and the outer covering l2 of material impervious to light, such as satin, sateen and the like, which present an attractive finish as well as accomplishing the result desired. While color is not of first importance, nature intended humans to sleep in darkness and therefore it is preferable to use black which indicates or suggests night. The device [0 is preferably provided with a stiffener [3 between the background ii and the outer covering l2. This stiffener [3 may be of any suitable material such as willow board, etc, but is preferably pliable rice cloth, which is roughly woven so as to bend frequently without breaking. It is to be remembered that p the device It! should be lig'htin weight and yet sufiiciently strong so that it will hold its form in shape in use even though the wearer is asleep and bodily movements are not under conscious control. The background II, the stiffener l3, and the outer covering !2 are held together in any suitable way and a mild use of adhesives is recommended.

The shape of the device, as previously stated, is substantially that shown in Fig, 4, and is so constructed and shaped that the two lobular portions M- and i5 are adapted to set over the eyes and around the eye socket without contact with either the eye or the eyelashes or any pressure on the optic nerve. A central portion is cut out as at It in order to accommodate space for the bridge of the nose.

of the cheek bone. Thus, no matter the particular peculiarity of the shape of the face, including the nose and cheek bones of the wearer, there will be no contactwith or pressures upon either the eyes themselves, the optic nerve or the eyelashes, causing any sort of discomfort or damage. At the same time, the pad [8 by conforming to the contours of the face of the wearer keeps the light from entering the lower edge of I the shield.

Pad H is provided to secure better circulation of the air and perhaps more comfort for the wearer. It is constructed of a single piece of .cloth and is stuffed with any suitable material similar to that described for pad 18.

In the construction of pads I! and I8 it will be noted that the pads are usually formed by folding the material back on itself and stufling.

; The free edges which coincide due to the folding, being 2| and 22, 23 and 24, respectively, are held in place on the device by means of stitching 25 or, in some instances, may even be held there by adhesives of any suitable design. In. Fig. 5 there is shown a sectional detail which indicates that the three layers of material which form the 5 main or body portion H] are held together at the periphery by a binding 26 which laps over on both front and rear sides and stitched as indicated 25 just inside the periphery, thus passing :through all of the layers forming the main or 'body portion In. as shown in Fig. 5, to take the free edges of the In so doing it is preferable,

pads I1" and I8 and have the peripheral binding pass over them in position so that the stitching 25 will hold the pads in place and cover the free edge, making a neat and finished looking prodnot.

In such a manner the main or body'portion I0 is preferably constructed.

The method of holding this light shield in place when being used is shown in preferred form in Fig. 1. There are loops 2! at either side of the device I0, which are preferably of elastic material which will stretch without too much pull. .These loops 2! are retained on the main body portion in any suitable way and in the preferred form they are shown as being clipped in place by :clips or fastenings 28. However, it is to be understoo'd that any suitable means, such as sewing, glueing, threading, etc. may be used. The loops 21 pass through a looped or lapped portion 30 of the band 3i which may extend to the back of the head of the wearer. This band may be formed of any suitable material such as a flex ible lightweight tape, elastic or the like. It'is adjustable in lengths by means of the slip clip 32 or by any other suitable means for accomplishing this result comfortably. It is to be noted that the elastic loops 21 are slidable relative to the band 3|, so that the band 3| can be shifted along the loops until brought into comfortable and proper position on the wearer.

When the elastics of the loops 2'! are new and tight the device itself may be worn asshown in Fig. 2 with the band 3| above the ears. When the elastic is old, or preferably when comfort and correct position are required, the device is worn as shown in the preferable view, Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a further variant form of holding the light shield in position which is cheaper in construction and yet permits the correct and preferred position shown in Fig. 1. The precise positioning accomplished by wearing the device with the loops over and under the ear, Without any pressure on the back of the ear, may be accomplished by having the elastic loops 21a extend from the top portion of the lobe I4 to the bottom portion of the lobe l5 (and vice versa) and cross at the back of the head of the wearer, as shown at 33 in Fig, 3. This positioning may be accomplished by also having the loops 2'! extend clear to the back of the head of the wearer and joining them by any suitable means at the point 33 or any other convenient place.

It is contemplated that changes of form may be made with variation and departures from the illustrated forms, without departing from the scope of this invention. Such variations and departures include those made possible by discovery of improved materials and by uses and forms of present materials as well as improved practices and results which may be possible in commercial fabrication and handling.

7 We claim:

A light shield, including a light excluding body portion adapted to cover the eyes of the wearer without contact with any portion of the eyes, and resilient loops extending from the upper portion on one side to the lower portion on the opposite side and vice versa, for holding said shield in place so that the respective loops will extend over and under the ears of the wearer without any pull on the back of the ears.

EDWARD C. HEMPHILL. ELSIE M. HEMPHILL. 

